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Post by Dungeon Master on Dec 18, 2016 4:34:21 GMT
This square between the Mayor's Manor and the Sheriff's home. It is a large empty are that is used for gatherings, and children play here.
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Post by Louis Cypher on Dec 19, 2016 9:44:24 GMT
A rickety carriage sat upon the village green in preparation for the throng of people that would celebrate the holiday, its owner well aware that an entrepreneur's work was never done and that if he was to enjoy the Dawnsday festivities in style. Over the top of the cart, where it opened to reveal a stall, were gilded letters that proudly identified it as "Mr. Cypher's Magical Emporium," all the letters capitalized, with the A in Magical in the shape of the all seeing eye.
The stall's proprietor stood out front, in a suit and top hat that looked far too clean for a man who lived in his cart, an intricately detailed walking stick in his hand with the same design of the all seeing eye serving as its grip, intricately carved in a deep black ebony. He used it more as a theatric tool to motion and gesture, than to actually walk.
"Come one, come all, to Mr. Cypher's Magical Emporium," he called out in a voice that carried accross the green. "Start the new year right with a concoction or two to bring the new gods delight, crafted from exotic ingredients from around the world, guaranteed to satisfy." As he spoke, he used prestidigitation to make a few vials of brightly colored potions appear in the air and orbit around him magically. "Enflame the passions of the object of your Dawnsday desire with a few drops of my own proprietary blend, diluted from a red dragon's ignus gland!" he motioned to a bright red vial. "Or guarantee wealth in the new year with a drought of leprechaun tears," a bright green bottle paused in the air before him as he motioned to it with his cane. "Or perhaps you want luck in the day's games. Well, there is nothing more fortuitous than a dusting of ground fairy bones," a bright gold concoction that shimmered in the sun floated into view. "Or perhaps you simply wish for protection for your family from the wrath of the old gods. Ward them away with a sprinkle of holy water from the shining sea," the last bottle, unnaturally blue, came into view. "Get them now at a bargain price or regret it for the rest of the year."
In truth, they were all just colored water, with a few bits thrown in for flavor. Whenever he ran out of one, he would simply "check in the back for more" and use prestidigitation to turn a red vial green. There were, of course, actual magical trinkets to be found in the town shops, but Louis had found that fools tended to prefer the lie and this town had no shortage of fools.
[+5 Deception]
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Post by Dungeon Master on Dec 19, 2016 11:57:19 GMT
A crowd of five had gathered around to listen to his pitch. Louis knew almost from the beginning that today he was off his game. Two young girls kept laughing at him in a distracting manner. And the three working class men seemed more interested in the pretty girls then in anything the Warlock was selling. The men reeked of strong alcohol and seemed to sway standing still.
Right as Louis said "regret it until the end of the year.", the largest of the three men stumbled forward and pointed a finger right at Cypher's face. "You know what, I think you are a lying... Toad. I don't think you could brew a potion to save your life. What do you think of that?" His breath was so bad it made Louis' stomach heave.
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Post by Louis Cypher on Dec 19, 2016 12:30:05 GMT
"I think we have a man in need of a demonstration, on the house of course," Louis flashed a crocodile's smile that did not reach his eyes, keeping up the facade as another vial floated from his sleeve to hang in the air before the brute. Its contents were black, water like the rest, though Louis made the liquid within seem to move unnaturally on its own accord. "I bought this off a trader from the Underdark, taken from the inky black pools where light of the new gods cannot reach. It is only for the bravest of souls, for it gives vision beyond vision, a glimpse into the hearts of others...and some things are better left unknown..."
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Post by Dungeon Master on Dec 19, 2016 14:21:57 GMT
The brutish man eyed the vital for a moment and then looked back at Louis. "I bet this doesn't do anything at all." Then he reached out and grabbed to the black vial. He glanced at the girls to see if they are watching and drank the vital back in one long draught.
The workman with a weasley face stepped forward and patted his brutish friend reassuringly. The other workman, who had a shaggy red beard ignored his friends and drank from a bottle of Dragonwater whiskey.
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Post by Louis Cypher on Dec 19, 2016 18:01:42 GMT
Louis gave the draught a moment to "kick in" before he reached out with his concioisness into the man's mind, tendrils of thought probing within. He made the mental voice sound like an alien consciousness, strange and terrible, beginning as a host of dissonant whispers all vying to be heard before one terrible thought rose to prominence among the rest, drowning out the others.
"When you sleep tonight, lids heavy from drunken revelry, your companions are going to open your belly for the few coins in your pocket. The last thing you taste before the Goddess of Death claims you will be your or own blood and shit as your entrails become extrails. Kill or be killed!"
Outwards, the elusive Me. Cypher held his smile, looking around at the gathered crowd as if they were about to see something wondrous.
(Awakened Mind-You can telepathically speak to any creature you can see within 30 feet of you. You don't need to share a language with the creature for it to understand your telepathic utterances.)
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Post by Dungeon Master on Dec 19, 2016 18:29:39 GMT
Louis kept his smile on his face as he tapped into the dark power contained within him. His mind touched the dark slime that is his connection with Hadar and he projected his thoughts into the brute's mind.
At first the brute just shook his head in denial, but then he realized the truth of this dead omen.
The brute turned and saw the weasley man right behind him. Rage at his impending betrayal filled the brutish man's mind. He punched the smaller man in the face and then tackled him to the ground. Soon the brute has the weasel pinned to the ground, two powerful hands gripped around the smaller man's throat.
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Post by Balneiros on Dec 19, 2016 18:34:05 GMT
Balneiros arrives at the Village Green as the bigger man pins the smaller man to the ground, watching them silently for a moment before approaching Louis, ignoring the scuffle. "An ordinary day for humans, it seems."
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Post by Louis Cypher on Dec 19, 2016 19:06:09 GMT
"I did warn him he might not like what he found out," Louis replied, with a sigh, expecting someone would call the guards in short order to break up the scuffle. "So, can I interest anyone in an elixir? Perhaps something less potent. A sprinkle of giant's sweat on your crops and you'll have pumpkins as big as my carriage by the harvest season."
"We only deal in the extraordinary here, Balneiros," Louis replied, with a knowing smile as he watched the sorcerer out of his peripherals, main focus on potential customers.
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Post by Dungeon Master on Dec 19, 2016 19:16:11 GMT
None of the small crowd were currently looking at Louis. All were watching the large man slowly strangle the small man to death. The brute was weeping as he choked the life out of the other. One of the girls suddenly ran guard the Sheriff's house.
The bushy bearded man was horrified as he watched the two men struggle. Then he raised the bottle up into the sky and brought it down hard on the head of the brute. The bottle did not break when it struck the skull. There was a meaty crack and the brute collapsed to the ground not moving.
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Post by Balneiros on Dec 19, 2016 19:22:38 GMT
Balneiros watches the end of the fight with a small smile, turning back to Louis afterwards. "So I've noticed. Your elixirs always do seem to have quite the effect, good or bad," Bal said with a plain face, "I hear you've got quite the draught for those lacking on the manly side." Bal states the last part unnecessarily loud, lying for the benefit of potential customers.
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Post by Clive Ramsey on Dec 19, 2016 23:04:31 GMT
Clive wandered into the green, strumming his guitar. He was halfway through a lovely ballad about a half orc maiden shut away by her embarrassed mother, but didn't quite make it to the escape when he saw all the hullabaloo. He parked himself by his half-brother to watch while idly tuning his guitar.
"Really should have considered a plant..."
He considered wading in with his guitar and telling the tale of how an elixir cured his dumbness, but decided it wasn't worth risking his current gig as entertainer. Maybe the next time.
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Post by Louis Cypher on Dec 19, 2016 23:09:58 GMT
"Of course, there nothing like a bit of golem flake to ensure a man's firmness and vigor," he said, a brown vial appearing from his sleeve that was bright red only a moment before. "However, it looks as if I might have to pack up the shop for the day and try to enjoy the festivities. A corpse has a way of driving away business."
He eyed the bard, as the stall began closing up with a snap of his fingers. "One hardly needs a plant when they have the genuine article."
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Post by Balneiros on Dec 20, 2016 3:54:19 GMT
Balneiros nods to Clive as he arrives before turning his attention back to Louis. "Better luck tomorrow, perhaps. Try again when the humans have had their fill of drinking and fucking tonight. I'm looking forward to avoiding the festivities." Bal looked to the corpse with a frown. "Suppose somebody should take care of him."
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Post by Louis Cypher on Dec 20, 2016 7:17:22 GMT
"Avoiding the festivities?" Louis asked, as if Balneiros were mad. "Why ever would you do such a thing? If you cannot find some entertainment, benefit, or gain among a sea of drunks on Dawnsday then I am afraid you never will. This is the greatest day of the year, the one day when everyone lets their masks drop and purse strings loose."
He ignored the suggestion that someone should take care of the corpse. The man had two friends for that, one with blood on his hands and the other with bruises around his throat. As far as Louis was concerned, all he had done was provide the man was a drink of colored water.
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